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Andrew Henry’s Meadow Picture Book Analysis
Andrew Henry’s Meadow is a 1965 picture book written and illustrated by Doris (“Doe”) Burn (1923 – 2011), an American storyteller who illustrated her picture books in a small Waldron Island cabin with no facilities.
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How To Make A Children’s Picture Book With Photos
People have been using photos to make picture books for as long as people have had access to cameras. The small print-run picture book by Joy Griffins West and Anne Casey (age 5) was published in 1951. The book is a combination of black and white photographs interspersed with simple brush-line drawings done in a naïve style. Another example of…
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Houn’ Dog by Mary Calhoun and Roger Duvoisin (1959)
Houn’ Dog by Mary Calhuon and Roger Duvoisin is a children’s picture book about fox hunting for sport. In the picture book it’s called ‘fox racing’, and the author avoids the realities of fox hunting by focusing on the ‘trial run’ which happens the evening before.
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The Great Valentine’s Day Balloon Race by Adrienne Adams 1980 Picture Book
The Easter Egg Artists is the first in this series about a family of rabbits with one son and his friend from next door, who is a girl.
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Benoit Blanc: Resurgence of the gentleman sleuth?
When we first meet Benoit Blanc in Knives Out (2019), he is introduced by another character as ‘the last of the gentleman sleuths’. Some viewers compare him to Sherlock Holmes. Others compare him to Hercule Poirot. Interestingly, both of these tentpole detectives are entering the public domain around the same time we’re actually seeing a resurgence in the gentleman sleuth. Perchance Benoit Blanc isn’t the last of them, after all.
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All She Said Was Yes by Shirley Jackson Short Story Study
“All She Said Was Yes” is a short story by Shirley Jackson. This is the one with the Wednesday Addams character archetype who foresees the death of her own parents. But do they listen to her? No.
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The Cistern by Ray Bradbury Short Story Analysis
Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Cistern” can be read as a celebration of plumbing and groundwater solutions, normally invisible to those of us who live in towns
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Whistler’s Grandmother by Shirley Jackson Short Story Analysis
“Whistler’s Grandmother” by Shirley Jackson was published in the May 5, 1945 edition of The New Yorker. Find it also in the collection Just An Ordinary Day (1996).
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The White Lotus: Meaning, Themes & Characterisation
The White Lotus (2021-) is an HBO anthology TV series created and directed by Mike White. Seasons one and two are each set in different places (Hawaii and Sicily respectively), but in the same chain of luxury hotels.
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The Summer People by Shirley Jackson Short Story Analysis
“The Summer People” is one of Shirley Jackson’s short stories about marginalised folk. In this instance, the main characters are marginalised because they are summer tourists New York City. They are also getting old and dispensable.
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How To Write Like Annie Proulx
Annie Proulx is an award-winning American novelist and short story writer, best known for The Shipping News and “Brokeback Mountain”. Below: features of her writing, as described by critics and readers (and me).
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Wednesday’s Child Is Full Of Woe: Symbolism and Close-reading
Wednesday (2022) is an eight-part Netflix series directed by Tim Burton, with a script by It is an Addams Family reboot. The original TV series ran from 1964-66.
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The Things They Left Behind by Stephen King Short Story Analysis
“The Things They Left Behind” is a post 9/11 short story by American writer Stephen King, first published in 2006.
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Art For Thanksgiving
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The Definition Of Boondoggle
Boondoggle is a mimetic word which sounds funny to English speakers along with nonsense words such as thingamebob, thingamejig, shenanigans, dongle, lollapalooza, bamboozle… All of these words are inherently funny. Even without considering any meaning, they just sound funny. Linguists have studied what makes some words phonologically funnier than others. According to a 2015 study, funny words: Remind speakers of…
